Press release

Launch of a new 4F introducer sheath for crossover procedures - Fortress.

Buelach, Switzerland, 31st August 2009 - BIOTRONIK AG, a leading manufacturer of Vascular Interventional devices, announced the introduction of the first dedicated device of its kind on the market, a 4F introducer sheath for contralateral access in Superficial Femoral Artery (SFA) intervention.

BIOTRONIK has now leapt ahead of competitors and positioned its peripheral intervention products for lower limb disease to stand out as the only company globally that can offer a complete

“4F Solutions” package.

The new Fortress introducer sheath, with its coil-reinforced design, makes the device highly deformation-resistant to accommodate the most challenging bifurcations and makes access and crossing of difficult lesions more successful by improving the deliverability of 4F compatible devices. Due to its very low profile, and in combination with the use of 4F devices, this sheath is considered to offer the least invasive access option for endovascular intervention.

Available in 45cm length with a pre-curved tip and tapered to 0.035” wire it is designed especially to complement BIOTRONIK’s current portfolio of interventional devices such as Cruiser-18 (0.018” guide wire); Passeo-18 (4F angioplasty balloon) and Astron Pulsar (4F self expanding stent).

Alain Aimonetti, Vice President Sales and Marketing commented, “Fortress has been specifically designed to complete the company’s “4F Solutions for lower limb” strategy that it has been working towards over the last few years. Soon to be supplemented with longer 4F Fortress sheaths for intervention below the knee (BTK), longer and smaller diameter balloons for Passeo-18, a drug-eluting balloon and Astron Pulsar self expanding stents up to 200mm length, BIOTRONIK steps up to take and hold the primary position as a partner for physicians treating lower limb disease”.

European launch in September 2009 will be immediately followed by worldwide introduction.

About BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG

As one of the world’s leading cardiovascular medical device companies, with several million implanted devices, BIOTRONIK is represented in over 100 countries with its global workforce of more than 4,800 employees. Known for having its fingers on the pulse of the medical community, BIOTRONIK assesses the challenges physicians face, and provides the best solutions for all phases of patient care, ranging from diagnosis to treatment to patient management. Quality, innovation and reliability define BIOTRONIK and its growing success, and deliver confidence and peace of mind to physicians and their patients worldwide.